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Action NC heads to Jackson Hole

Officials to field questions in unprecedented on-the-record session with 120 community leaders

Six Federal Reserve Presidents and one Governor have accepted the invitation of Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George to meet with leaders from the Fed Up coalition for an on-the-record discussion of Fed monetary policy and governance just before the start of the annual Policy Symposium that she hosts in Jackson Hole, WY. Action NC, a community organizing and issue advocacy group based in Charlotte, is one of the participating organizations and will have 10 members and staff present at the meeting.

Fed Up members will ask questions about the officials’ views regarding the appropriate path of interest rates in the coming years and their opinions about reforming the Fed’s structure in 2017.

The session represents a significant step forward for the Fed Up coalition, which has for two years been campaigning to ensure that the experiences and opinions of working class people of color play a central role in the thinking of Federal Reserve decision-makers.

The President of the Richmond Fed, Jeffrey Lacker, has met twice with Action NC member and discussed their concerns about the direction of the Fed. The larger coalition has met with all 12 Fed Presidents and 4 Fed Governors, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen, but the conversations have almost never been on the record or open to the press. Coming directly before the start of the Fed’s policy symposium and in advance of major FOMC decisions in September and December, this meeting represents an important milestone in the coalition’s effort to promote Fed transparency and accountability.

Since its launch in the fall of 2014, the Fed Up coalition has sought to transform the national conversation about the Federal Reserve and its role in the American economy by highlighting the lack of racial, gender, and economic sector diversity among Fed leadership ranks and emphasizing the need for genuine full employment. When the Democratic Party released its national platform over the summer, it highlighted the importance of full employment and the desirability of reforming the Federal Reserve’s governance structure; this was the first time in 30 years that these issues were referenced in the Party’s platform.

What: On-the-record conversation between community leaders and Fed presidents and Governor

Who:

Lael Brainard (Board of Governors)

William Dudley (New York)

Esther George (Kansas City) (Host)

Robert Kaplan (Dallas)

Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis)

Loretta Mester (Cleveland)

Eric Rosengren (Boston)

John Williams (San Francisco)

Where: Jackson Lake Lodge

When: Thursday, August 25, 6:30-7:30 p.m, EST. Doors will open to the press at 3:00 p.m. and to the public at 4:00 p.m.

Fed Up is a coalition of community organizations and labor unions across the country calling on the Federal Reserve to reform its governance and adopt policies that build a strong economy for the American public. The Fed can keep interest rates low, give the economy a fair chance to recover, and prioritize genuine full employment and rising wages for all communities.

Action NC’s mission is to confront and reduce the root causes of poverty, underdevelopment, and social and economic inequality through grassroots education, training, organization and mobilization.

We organize in poor and working-income communities full of talented and committed people looking for an opportunity to work together to build a stronger and more secure future. We reach out to them in a variety of ways to offer them the opportunity to join, organize, fight, and win.